Übermensch
by fujicortland
Summary: "Ughh...w..where am I? Hold on, this isn't France...Wait, what happened to my hands? Why do I have hooves? What happened to my skin? What's with all this fur? Why the heck do I have wings? Gah! Why do I have this weird thing printed on my butt? WHO AM I?"
1. Prologue - The Invitation

**_Prologue -_** ** _The Invitation_**

* * *

 _21_ _st_ _of November 1879 here in France, my beloved country, and I just received an invitation to Monsieur Clarmond's party. He wrote to me last week saying that he'll be arranging a party once he receives any news concerning my return to Marseille after I finished my studies. Probably, he has long ears to know that I graduated, even though that was three years ago._

 _There's no reason for me to stay in Paris anymore. I finished school, I worked hard for it, and I got my dream. It's high time I leave this wonderful city and go back home. Besides, I promised my friends that I return as soon as I finish college. You know how I see promises, that it is a dire sin to break one. Making promises is a sign of nobility. We all know how nobles act, therefore, promises are never meant to be broken. And if you'll simply break promises, then you're worse than those veggie-eating scums way back then._

 _Anyway, my coach would be coming sooner, so better yet I should be packing up._

 _My driver came an hour earlier than I thought, which means I had to bid goodbye to my dear apartment I lived for ten years since I first attended my higher education. Goodbye piano, my dear lover. Goodbye bed, another of my lovers. Goodbye dear restaurant next door. I will always love your exclusive Italian cuisines. Also goodbye, tremendous Eiffel Tower; may Gustave Eiffel's talents and passions be embroidered in your foundations._

 _After minutes of lamentations, I finally got into the chariot dad bought for me before I went to college and went off._

"Back to Marseille, monsieur?" said my coach.

"Yes, Raoul" I answered. "To Monsieur Clarmond's mansion."

"Your friends would be enthralled to meet you again, monsieur."

"I'm sure they would, Raoul. I'm sure they would."


	2. Chapter 1 - Monsieur Clarmond

**_Chapter 1 - Monsieur Clarmond_**

* * *

"Monsieur Jean Antoine des Flanders!" said my best friend as he ran towards me for a hug.

"Nice to meet you again after ten years, Monsieur Clarmond Louis de la Croix" I giggled.

I haven't even got off of my carriage yet.

"I thought you'd come back after you finish your education?" he asked.

"I had to say goodbye" I laughed.

"For three years? You bade goodbye to Paris? FOR THREE YEARS!?"

"It's not easy saying goodbyes you know."

I finally got off of my carriage.

"And you know how I hate good-byes, Louis. Even before my grandmother's last breath, I told her 'See you soon' and not goodbye."

A minute of silence quickly resonated throughout the environment.

"Wow, Jean. You're still the emotional pianist I have known."

"And you're still that greedy capitalist who forgot my birthday seven years in a row!"

We then walked towards his house.

"Hey, business is not easy you know" he exclaimed. "Unlike you who just sit in front of a piano tapping on keys, I have to deal with numbers, trends, people, and products that—"

"Okay" I butted in, "Here's a deal. I'll take your place as a businessman, and you take my place as a virtuoso. Besides, I have a concert in Barcelona next month. It would be good for your fame. How does that sound?"

He just stood there, looking straight into my eyes, as if he's utterly defeated, which means that I have invented a perfect trap to shut him up. He knows that I know I could be a better businessman than him. During our elementary school days way back then, I always topped our Mathematics class. In our secondary school days, I'm still the top-notched student in our Math class. And he? He's either second or third. In fact, he won't be in the top three without me since like three-fourths of his arithmetic skills are accredited to me. The rest, well, it's his.

"Bah!" he said as he stomped his feet and continued walking while I continued laughing.

At last, we are underneath the porch of his giant house. His doors are a metre and a half taller than me, and the details are in gold. You can, not just smell, but feel the scent of the tulips and daffodils strengthening the aura of the place. His house has two floors with a window in each room (except their washroom of course) and a velvet curtain to cover the windows. A terrace on the second floor and on the top makes it look like they were too lazy to install roofs, which, I'd say, is a clever thing to do. Also, his house is painted in light violet and, fortunately, he has a backyard.

"Talk about the life of a capitalist" I whispered to myself.

As the doors to his mansion opened, I was beguiled to see a large and exquisite reception taking place. You can see all the bourgeoisie with wine glasses in their hands packed into one hall. Also, you can see a small orchestra ensemble playing Johann Strauss II's "The Blue Danube", which I usually hum while I dance when it's midnight in my apartment way back in Paris.

"The golden chandelier looks enthralling" I said to myself. "In fact, almost everything inside this house is golden. Also, that conductor seems peculiarly familiar. If only I can put my finger in his nose."

Anyway, the house is well-lit, with everyone enjoying the party and…wait, is that a dining table at the far left I see? And…is that…food!?

"A smorgasbord!?" I exclaimed. "Louis, you know how much I love smorgasbords!"

"Well" said Louis, "Last time I held a buffet like this, Gaston ate half of the food and drank half of the wine."

"Wait, Gaston?" I asked. "You mean, _the_ Gaston Ignace de Agustín? Our secondary school classmate?"

"Mh-hmm" he nodded.

"He is here, right?"

"Not just Gaston, but all of our friends. I invited everyone we know just for them to show up in your 'Welcome Home' party."

"Wait, really?"

He then waved his hand and shouted "Hey, everybody!" At that moment, the music stopped, the laughing halted and the eating and drinking was delayed. Everyone literally all-eyed on us, while I stood there, half-embarrassed, frozen, and dumbfounded. I don't know what to do. Should I laugh or should I go with the flow and look at Louis, pretending I'm not involved in one of his clever antics. Though I'd recommend myself not to do anything and just stand still. Who knows? They might get bored and get back to whatever they are doing. Besides, every move I make becomes either a mistake or worsens the issue. So, in times like these, I better not do anything stupid or my ego will force me to lock myself in my parent's basement and stay there, never going out ever again unless bathing, eating, and buying from a store.

"Remember 'Grandes Mains'?" he shouted again.

"Wait, what!?" I reacted.

("Grandes Mains" means "Big Hands". It's what my friends used to call me because, you know, I'm a pianist and stuffs.)

"Well, he's here!" said Louis. "Now known throughout France as 'Monsieur Jean-Jacques Antoine Barthélémy Xavier, Vicomte des Flandres'." At once, the silence spontaneously turned into people cheering, pushing me and dragging me in front of the mini-orchestra ensemble, and chanting "Grandes Mains!" while pushing their fists up as if I started another French Revolution. I didn't expect it to become like this. I mean, they're all bourgeoisie and vicomtes, right? Why won't they at least act a little like one?

Unless, of course, they are actually peasants in disguise.

"Speech!" said a face in the crown after the moment I was already in front. I looked at him straight in the eye, and then my memories suddenly flashed in front of my eyes—the memories of my childhood days while I was running in the backyard of our house along with my friends and neighbours.

"He seems familiar" I said to myself. "I think I've been friends with him somewhere in first grade…"


	3. Chapter 2 - Familiar Faces

**_Chapter 2 - (All Around Me Are) Familiar Faces_**

* * *

 _I can still recall the time all of my friends went to Paris with our parents for a week just to see Franz Liszt play the piano. After the concert, our parents would quickly drag us outside of the concert hall because a riot would suddenly occur after. Everyone would fight over Liszt's clothing, attempted to meet Liszt in person, and even try to touch the keys Liszt touched as well. I guess one of my favourite composers do leave ever-lasting impacts on people._

 _We were still playful little children back then. I remember those nights when I'd play Ludwig van Beethoven's "Bagatelle in A Minor" to lull my friends to sleep. It was the usual thing I would play during sleepovers like these. Even I would feel sleepy as well. The only thing waking me up is Louis trying to begin a conversation._

 _I will never forget that discussion._

" _Gaston fell asleep under the piano again" young Louis said._

" _He always does" I replied._

" _Why do you think Beethoven called it 'Für Elise'?" he asked. "I mean, who is Elise and why is she so special for Beethoven to dedicate this hypnotic piece to her?"_

 _I lowered the tempo a bit to make room for my thinkers to work. (Yeah, I called my conscious and subconscious 'thinkers' before.)_

" _Maybe Elise is his girlfriend" I replied, "And that he wrote this to show her how much he loves her. Or maybe Elise is his mother, for her to know how much Beethoven is thankful for all the work she gave just to see her son become a star. Or Elise could be his cat, and that he wrote this bagatelle to thank his cat for being there when Beethoven needed a companion. Or Elise could be his favourite flower. Elise could be anyone he dearly loves. It's why he made this bagatelle: "For Elise". It's a sign of gratitude for everything everyone done for him."_

 _Louis nodded._

" _Hey, Jean" he said, "Do you dream that, one day, you will become the next Ludwig van Beethoven?"_

" _Maybe" I giggled. "I could be Liszt or Chopin instead. We may never know."_

" _And Gaston? What do you think of Gaston?"_

" _He'll make a wonderful maestro."_

" _What about Georg over there? What do you think of him?"_

" _The next Niccolò Paganini, I presume?"_

 _After that answer, he became silent for a while. Then he spoke again._

" _And me? What do you think of me?"_

 _I instantly stopped the piano, thought about it, and looked straight into his eyes._

" _Dear Louis de la Croix" I whispered. "What I am saying right now are just mere assumptions. It's up to you to know what and who do you think you are. It's you who will write your autobiography, not me, and not anyone else."_

 _After that moment, reality flashed back._

* * *

"G…Gaston!?" I told the man who told me to speak in front. "Is that you?"

"After all these years" he replied, "Your assumptions were right all along."

I knew his personality would never change.

"My goodness!" I exclaimed. "You look astonishing!"

"Took me years to get this face pumped up and working" he said. After that, the whole audience broke into laughter.

You see, Gaston Ignace de Agustín was not that kind of a person we know today. Before, he wore glasses, he had freckles on his cheeks, his hair was always frayed, his voice sounded squeaky, and he has this 'humdrum' personality no likes except us, who find everything he does interesting to our eyes. Now, he is a stunning aristocrat, a talented maestro, a skilful violinist, and a wise teacher. He has that grey hair which evokes that majestic, Beethoven-like aura, he has a voice full of authority and respect but a face full of playfulness and light-heartedness, and also he wears a classy suit, a monocle, and the "Officier Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" embedded onto his suit, which was given to him by President Maurice last year.

"Gaston, believe me" I said after I stopped laughing. "I really did not notice that you were the conductor in front."

"Neither did I notice that it was you all along to whom this party was dedicated to" he replied. "I mean, shouldn't all of us be wearing hand costumes for such an occasion like this?"

The whole audience broke into hilarity again.

While I'm still catching my breath, my eyes glanced across the hall full of familiar face. One of them managed to catch my attention.

"Georg? Is that you?" I said.

"No" he replied. "I'm just another finger in your hand."

While everyone is breaking their lungs out, let me tell you about this Georg

 _His real name is Karl Georg Adolf von Drumpf. I'm guessing that you hypothesised that he is a German. Apparently, your hypothesis is correct. He and his family came from München (or as I and Louis would call it, "Munchin'"). They moved here in Marseilles because it appears that his dad has some sort of a business here. His family lived right next to Louis', while my family lives to the left of Louis._

 _When we were kids, I and Louis would tease him because we were such bullies back then and that we always see Germans as weird people with weird moustaches. Georg would say something like "When I grow up, my grandson will make a nation great! And you will wish that you were my grandsons." And then I'll reply "Yeah? What nation? America—land of idiots?" Louis would support me by saying "America, of course! With what? A small loan of a million francs!?" Then I and Louis would roll over the grassy backyard as we laugh loudly as Georg would give us that frown we hate. But even though we act like a pleb to him, we're still friends at the end of the day. Nothing changes, only our bond strengthen._

"How are those Paganini hands doing?" I asked him.

"Better than your hands, I should say" he replied.

And another laughter from the audience filled the room.

Before I went with my mini-speech, I calmed myself because, you know, I can't speak when I'm in the bloomy mood.

"Okay" I said after regaining myself, "So, first, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you all here just for you to celebrate my return and success in my education. First, I'd like to thank Louis de la Croix, one of my best friends, to conduct this party. I was surprised when he told me that he invited everyone I knew, from childhood to Parisian life. In fact, he even invited Monsieur Pierre Nicolas Maximiliem, my fourth grade Math teacher! I'm so grateful that I have him as my friend. Second, I'd like to thank everyone who put a lot of effort in making this happen. Some of you came from really far places. Even my friend John Henry Normington from Edinburgh came just to celebrate makes me feel how special this event is."

I waved to the man standing way at the back of the audience.

"Good evening, lad" I said.

"Pleasure evening to you too, mate" Henry waved backed.

"The pleasure's all mine, Henry" I replied. "What am I about to say again? Ah yes. Thank you everyone for making this event a night to remember. I will always treasure this moment until Louis would burn my corpse and throw it into the Mediterranean. And to that…"

I raised my wine cup overhead.

"…I say 'Vive le France'!"

Everyone raised their wine cups as well.

"VIVE LE FRANCE!"


	4. Chapter 3 - Monsieur Jean

"I promise you" said Louis, "I will build a golden statue of you offshore of Marseille exactly where I will throw your ashes so that people will know what a great person you are."

"That would be subjective to time" I laughed. "If you die earlier than me, then I'd be the one to throw your ashes into the Mediterranean and build a statue of you."

"Where would you get the money?" Louis laughed back.

"Well I presume your house would cost millions of Francs" I teased as Louis laughed louder.

Anyway, the party resumed, Gaston went back to his orchestra, Georg went back to his ladies, while I went back to my contemplation (and by contemplation, I mean staring at that lovely croissant dish displayed on the table).

"Excuse me for a second" I said.

"Take your time" Louis replied.

I looked back at that beautiful and craving stack of croissants still fresh from the bakery. Each scent that wafts into my nostril is a scent of the early morning. It was the scent I smell every time I go to Madame Olivier's bakery for a quick breakfast before I go to college. It was the scent I smell during my tour of the Eiffel Tower. It was the scent I smell every time my mother would tell me to come downstairs for a snack. It was the scent I love and will forever love.

" _Bonsoir et bienvenue, monsieur_."

 _Wait…that voice. That voice of my childhood—the voice of the piano in my heart. Could that be…?_

I turned around to see a lady magnificently dressed in violet and looks astoundingly beautiful.

"Enjoying the croissants, I see?"

"Mademoiselle Éléonore de Saint-Gilles!"

I gave her a "friendly" hug and instantly released her from my embrace.

Which means another background story:

 _Marie Jeanne Éléonore de Saint-Gilles is another of my neighbours. Unlike Louis who lives next door and Georg who lives farther right, Éléonore and her family lives across the street, along with Gaston. Éléonore, I could say, is aesthetically different from us. She's the only neighbour I have who chose painting rather than music. Though she can play the violin, she would still choose her paintbrush above all. One time, she painted me playing the piano, which I can say is very cute. Another time, she painted herself painting me playing the piano. And, I'm not kidding, she actually painted herself painting herself painting me playing the piano. This girl has a very wild imagination concerning sceneries and colours, and I was surprised to see that from a ten-year old girl._

 _Éléonore would simply paint anything she sees, whether it be still or moving. And even though I and Louis "accidentally" mess her paintings up (yeah, we were such bullies to girls also way back then), it would turn out the final work would be more beautiful than what the painting is supposed to be. She once drew a simple, yet enthralling, painting of our backyard. While Éléonore would go to her room for some paint supplies, we'd sneak in and draw something like horses with wings. To make the long story short, she entitled her work "Les Walkyries". She changed the flying horses we drew into some awesome creatures with Norse gods riding them. I mean, it's exactly like the Valkyries in Norse mythology! And that was the last time we attempted to tease Éléonore. After that, we just watch her paint like Da Vinci._

 _(Also, just between you and me, let's say I have a little bit of 'admiration' on her.)_

"How was Paris?" Éléonore asked me.

"The same thing you felt in Madrid" I answered.

"Loneliness?" she asked again.

"Uhm…yeah. Loneliness" I smiled.

"Ah, I see you two are into a conversation" said Louis suddenly from behind. "Been a long time since we had a complete gathering like this. That eight hundred thousand francs were really worth it."

"EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND FRANCS!?" I and Éléonore shouted at the same time. We then looked at each other in complete awkwardness.

"Well, how much do you think the orchestra ensemble, the buffet, the newly-installed chandelier, and the invitations would cost?"

"Louis" I said, "I appreciate your hard work, but I don't appreciate that you would need to spend a large amount of money. I mean, where did you even get the money at the first place?"

"It is fine, Jean. Besides, I'm rich, remember?"

All three of us laughed as my wandering eyes scanned the hall again, looking for anyone I could still remember. As I was doing so, I noticed something peculiar. Or is it just me? I feel like something is missing—something, or someone rather, making me feel incomplete. I'm pretty sure it's not just my senses. I can feel it.

Yep, I knew it.

"Hey, Louis" I said. "You told me that you invited everyone I knew, right?"

Louis nodded. "Why would you ask?"

"Where are my parents then?" I said. "They should be here. Where are they?"

Both Louis and Éléonore looked at each other, as if they did something wrong. None of them dared to speak out, so I broke the ice instead.

"Is there something wrong with I said?" I asked them.

"Yeah, I knew you would tell me that question someday" Louis said. "Hey, Louis. Can I talk with you on the terrace at the second floor, please?"

"Why? What's going on?"

"It's just that…well…I would explain it to you better if you would just let me take you to the terrace."

"You can just say it here. I mean, it's not like anybody outside my circle would want to hear it."

"I insist Jean-Jacques Antoine Barthélémy Xavier that you come with me to the second floor terrace at once."

"Whatever you want to say, just say it right here. It's not like it's the end of the world, right guys?"

Louis and Éléonore looked again at each other. Louis then signalled Éléonore that it's her turn to speak.

"Jacques" Éléonore said, "Please bear with us for a while and come with Louis to the second floor terrace. You may not understand, but please do. It's for the best."

"Fine then" I replied. "To the terrace we go."

I and Louis, after minutes of persuading me to follow Louis to the terrace, finally went upstairs. As we both reached the snowy balcony, Louis shut the door behind us, with only the light from the moon lighting the balcony up.

"Listen, Jean" he said. "This is difficult for you to comprehend, but please do. I know this thing is, well, crazy, but it's reality. Just remember, if you need anything, whether it be money, companion, or material objects, I and Éléonore are always here by your side to help you."

"Go on" I told him.


	5. Chapter 4 - Worn Out Faces

_**Chapter 4 - (Worn Out Places,) Worn Out Faces**_

* * *

 _Your parents, Monsieur Jacques Xavier and Madame Jeanne Matilda de Evart-Xavier, were the ones giving you money during you Parisian education, right? Let me tell you that Monsieur Jacques's business broke, so he has to loan from Monsieur Claude Fressende, his fellow businessman. Now, I should've seen that coming, knowing that Monsieur Jacques would always tell me that he's fine every time I try to check on him, though the tone of his voice says it all. I couldn't help him that time because I heard that my business in Salzburg needs serious help, so I had no choice but to leave as soon as possible._

 _Two years later, I came back to hear that your house was sold to Mssr. Fressende and is about to be demolished and that your parents got arrested because they cannot pay back the loan Mssr. Jacques borrowed. Mssr. Fressende told me that the total loan was seven hundred thousand francs. I tried to pay the loan for him, I even tripled it, but it's no use. Mssr. Fressende would not accept my offer. Now when I came to the town prison, I asked the police to direct me to Mssr. Jacques and Mme. Matilda's cell, but, forgive me Jean, I was too late. The police told me that Mssr. Jacques and Mme. Matilda both died due to a disease. The police said that the doctor said the cause was cardiac arrest. I arranged a funeral and buried them right before your grandparent's grave. I hired a messenger to send you a letter concerning your parents' death, but word came to me that the boy was killed by bandits._

 _I managed to buy back the house though, and I asked help from the local court to arrange a temporary trespassing restraining order for the house, so that it may be secured from the demolishment. I did everything I could to keep your house alive. I ask help from our other neighbours to clean the place up, I paid any necessary expenses for you, and I made sure no one tries to rent, nor buy the place. Did you even wonder why the money you receive spontaneously grew as time passes by? Because, after the incident, I was the one supporting you. Half of the sum of the money you get came from me._

 _Now, when I heard that you've finished college, I asked your friends, classmates, teachers, and relatives, to help me out organising this party. Éléonore was in charge of the food, Gaston was in charge of the music, and Georg helped me handle the preparations and expenditures. It's why I waited for you outside of my house. I was trying to redirect you from your house. I don't want you to feel bad and miserable because your parents are gone. I just want you to, well, not feel sad._

I didn't move a muscle. My heart shattered into a million pieces. I forced my tears to not show. I don't know what to say. I feel completely miserable after what he said. I tried not to make eye contact with Louis because I don't want him to know how broken I am, though I know he already knew what I feel since he reached out and gave me a hug.

"There, there" said Louis as he tapped my back. "All is not as lost as it seems. I mean, look at you! You finished your education, you reached your dream, your fame has covered France, your name stretches outside of France, you have the same ' _Officier Ordre des Arts et des Lettres_ ' Gaston has, and you have friends who serve as your second family. Look how fortunate you are."

"Yeah" I replied sobbingly, "But if only my parents can see how high I've reached, then my dream would be deemed as completed."

Louis looked at me in a compassionating manner.

"Jean" he whispered, "We are your 'parents' now. Like I said, anything you need and want, we got it all covered."

"Then" I replied, "If you will give me anything I want, do me a favour and take me home."

Louis nodded as we both went downstairs. Of course, we didn't went through the main hall because that would make an awkward scene, so he directed me into his backyard and walked me home. I also asked Louis to give Raoul his monthly seven thousand Francs. He agreed, and so I handed him Raoul's pay and he handed it over to Raoul, who parked my carriage beside my house.

" _Au revoir_ , Jean" said Louis as he opened the door for me. "I'll pray that you sleep well."

"Thanks a lot, Louis" I said as I went inside and closed the door.

* * *

My tired eyes glanced the whole first floor. My house isn't that small, but it isn't that big as well, compared to Louis'. It's perfect, spacious, and cosy. The first floor is where the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen can be found. The second floor is my parent's bedroom and the third floor is my room, where you can find my piano.

As I went up and locked myself in my room, I viewed the street through the window beside my piano. I looked around to see my friends, teachers, and classmates flooding the streets. Seems like Louis already ended the party. Louis and Éléonore both looked up and waved at me as I waved back at them. After an hour of staring into the moon and watching snowflakes lazily fall into the ground. I changed my clothes to my usual night clothing—a shirt and some silk trousers. Then I sat in front of my piano and meticulously play Claude Debussy's " _Claire de Lune_ ". While my hands touch the cold keys, my eyes again stare out into the night sky, mourning for the loss of my beloved parents. Every time I hear a note, I keep on remembering my mother. She used to play me this piece just to lull me to sleep.

Now I'm lulling myself to sleep as the agony of grief and loneliness consumes my inner self.


	6. Chapter 5 - The Daily Races

**_Chapter 5 - (Bright And Early For) The Daily Races_**

* * *

I didn't sleep well. My mind is tortured by the fact that I can't greet my parents a great morning anymore. I never felt lonely in my entire life. I sure wished they were still with me. I wanted to tell them how high I skyrocketed, how far I ran, and how deep I swam. If only I was God to bring them back alive again, or at least let God take me away.

"Jean, you awake?"

"That was Louis" I said. "What on earth is he doing downstairs? I thought he has work to do?"

I quickly went down the stairs to see Jean, Éléonore, Gaston, and Georg seated in the dining room.

"We made this breakfast for you" said Georg. "It's not much, but I know you like garden vegetables, so we made this egg salad. Also, Éléonore baked the croissants you loved last night."

"I can take care of myself, guys" I said. "You really don't need to prepare my breakfast."

"No you don't" said Gaston. "After you heard the incident of your parents, we knew you'd starve yourself to death. We don't want that to happen, so we'll be the one replacing your parents from now on. Besides, it's not just _your_ breakfast, but _our_ breakfast."

"Suit yourselves then" I said as we sat down and started to eat.

"Louis, I thought you have business to do?" I asked.

"I do" he answered.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I own my business. I can go to work whenever I want. I can be a little late just to have breakfast with you."

"I told you, I can prepare my breakfast on my own."

"We know you can. We also know that you are a highly emotional person. You won't eat when you're sad, and you'll be sad for a month. We can't let you not eat for one month now, would we?"

I just smiled and continue eating, knowing that there are people who care for me whether I'm up or down.

"Hey, Jean" said Gaston, "I must say, I really love the five nocturnes you published three years ago. I tried it on my piano back home myself and I really cried with all the emotions filling up the music sheet."

"Thanks" I said. "It was really the first pieces I composed."

"I thought your Piano Sonata No. 1 in A Minor was the first thing you composed?" asked Gaston

"It wasn't" I answered. "I composed that piano sonata during my first month in Paris, while my five nocturnes were composed when I was sixteen years old."

"Getting into the music industry, I see" said Georg.

"At least my hands won't hurt pressing all those strings down" I giggled.

"What are you talking about?" laughed Georg. "Being a violinist is great. It's like using your fingers to perform some kind of magic trick."

"Just make sure they don't touch France or you might 'magically' bring back Louis XIV again." I giggled once more.

After that, the whole room fell silent again, until I thought of something to say.

"Do any of you still remember dad's uniform when he joined the army during the Franco-Prussian War?" I said.

"I do" replied Éléonore.

"Apparently, Uncle Picard brought it with him to London" I exclaimed.

"Which means you're going to London to retrieve Mssr. Jacques' uniform, right?" said Gaston.

"Correct" I replied. "Also, I thought of holding a concert in front of Queen Victoria, if her royal highness would let me, a week before I perform in Barcelona and Seville. Which means I'll be away for quite some time—about two to three months."

"And I'm coming with you" said Louis.

"Pardon?" I said.

"You're not coming alone, Jean" he stated. "No friend of mine comes to London alone, not on my watch."

"You don't even have a watch!" said Georg.

"Yes I do" argued Louis. "Seven of them, to be exact. I just don't wear them because they might be damaged. Anyway, I'm coming with you on your journey to London, Barcelona, and Seville. You look weak after you heard the news about your parents. I'm just worried that something might happen to you during your trip. So, as your guide and aid, I will stay by your side. Besides, it would be a great opportunity to expand my wine business."

"Cheeky little capitalist are you, Louis?" I laughed.

"And who would take care of your business here in France while you're gone?" said Gaston.

"I have enough slaves…err…workforce, I mean" stuttered Louis. "They'll take care of my business for me."

"Then that's great" I said. "Because we leave now."

"Wait, what!?" everyone exclaimed.

"The sooner we leave to London, the earlier I return here to Marseilles" I said, finishing my plate. "Louis, you prepare your stuffs. Georg, Éléonore, and Gaston, I trust you three to take care of this house while I'm gone, alright?"

"Don't worry" said Georg. "Your house will be our house."

"Thanks, guys" I said as I got up and went outside. "Raoul!"

"Yes, monsieur?" said Raoul, who was watering my plants.

"Prepare my carriage" I instructed. "We're leaving to Dunkirk."

"On its way, Monsieur" Raoul spoke.

An hour later, Louis, Georg, Gaston, and Éléonore were outside waiting to meet me while I'm still gathering everything I need, including my clothes, watch, a portrait of mom and dad, perfumes, and my pen and paper in case an idea for a piano piece comes up, into two of my suitcases.

"Sorry for the delay, Louis" I said. "Had to fit everything I had to bring in these suitcases."

"Take your time" replied Louis as he helped me load the suitcases at the back of the carriage.

"Éléonore" I said, "I leave the keys to you."

"Stay safe out there" said Éléonore.

"We'll pray for you" said Gaston.

"And don't forget to bring home treats" said Georg.

"I will" I said. "And don't worry, I will return here in mint condition."

I and Louis waved them goodbye as we both went into carriage.

"Raoul, we should stop by at Paris for the night. Before daybreak tomorrow, we leave for Dunkirk" I ordered.

"Alright, Monsieur" he said as he snapped the horses to trot.


	7. Chapter 6 - Parisian Nighttime

**_Chapter 6 - Parisian Nighttime_**

* * *

"I forgot to tell my co-workers that I'm in Paris again" said Louis.

"What do you mean again?" I replied.

"Well, you don't expect me to stay in Marseille all the time, do you?" replied Louis. "I even went to the French Indochina just to set up my wine business there."

"You always take chances for granted, do you?" I said.

"Of course I do. Anyway, I can write a letter to them anyway. I'll drop by at the post office when we get to Dunkirk."

"You didn't tell me you can drop letters to the post office. Why didn't you drop me one when you heard that mom and dad were dead instead of hiring a messenger?"

"Jean, the post office was closed that time. I can't just wait until the next day for the post office to reopen. Besides, I didn't knew that the messenger would get killed."

"Eh, suit yourself."

We were both having tea outside Madame Olivier's bakery. My watch says it's already 20:42, yet I don't feel sleepy. Maybe it's the aura of the Eiffel Tower wafting towards us. Or maybe it's the bright moon telling us not to sleep yet, or we'll miss something great. Or maybe it's the smile in everyone's faces after watching the opera "Lohengrin" at the Palais Garnier (though I don't know why they are smiling since the opera itself is a tragedy. Trust me, I watched it myself when the opera premiered in Weimar during my two-month vacation. I hate to give spoilers, but to entice everyone's excitement up, here's a little key to the lock: the girl dies).

Anyway, we rented the same apartment room I lived during my higher education here in Paris. When I and Louis entered the room, I was surprised to see that nothing changed. The piano is still there, some of the books I left are still there, and my bed looks like as if it was new (although I'd like to think that it was new). Even though I left this place yesterday, I missed it already. And now I can formally say goodbye to this place before we leave for London.

" _Croissants, monsieur?_ " said Madame Olivier as she went out of her bakery wearing an apron while carrying two plates, each having four pieces of croissants.

" _Merci, madame_ " we both said as she placed the two plates beside our teacups.

"You're looking great tonight, madame" I complimented. "Perhaps it's that new earring you're wearing."

I pointed at her silver-plated earrings, which has a small sapphire on it.

"Thank you, monsieur" said Madame Olivier. "My grandson bought this for me before his parents sent him to a conservatory in Berlin. He comes back every year to give me new ones. He's a pianist just like you, Monsieur Jean. He goes out of the bakery just to hear you play the piano. And, oh, he's just a young boy yet he told me that he dreams of becoming like you someday."

My heart lightened up when I heard what Madame Olivier said. Could it be that I became an encouragement to a little boy?

"Two years before his music studies in Berlin, I and his parents worked together to buy him his very own piano. His room used to be the attic of this bakery. Now it's where his secrets and dreams are made and stored. One time, he saw the music book of your ' _Le Cinq Nocturnes_ ' in a music store and told me that he'll do whatever he can to buy that music book, so I let him run the bakery for me. I did the baking, while he did the selling. It's not easy, as he said, but he'll work hard. I'd give him fifty francs a day, and when he reached his seven hundred francs goal, he ran to the music store and bought that book. I watched him as he tried it on the piano for the first time. He'd mostly complain how difficult some of the pieces were since it involves jumping octaves. Then I'd simply let him watch me do it and then tell him he's the one who wanted it so he must work hard on it the same way he worked hard on earning the money to buy the book. Now he would perform in public at a young age. You don't know how proud I am to be his grandmother."

My eyes widened as she told me that story. I know my works could be inspirational, but I never knew my works can make people move and pursue. I am deeply revered to know that I served as a matchstick to light up a candle.

"Wow" I said, speechless and astonished. "I…I'm so honoured to be a motivation to such a person. Is he here perhaps?"

"I received a letter from him saying that he'll be here next week" she answered.

"Oh" I replied. "I'm sorry, but we have to leave before daybreak tomorrow."

"It's alright" pardoned Madame Olivier. "I'll just tell him that you were here."

I handed her the pen I brought.

"Give this to him, please?" I said. "Tell him that I used that pen to write my piano pieces."

I then opened my suitcase and pulled out the original manuscript of my "Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Minor".

"Also" I said, giving her the manuscript, "Tell the boy to publish my second piano sonata. I know he'll be proud to know he's holding the original copy of the sonata."

"I will" she replied. "I promise you, he'll be very happy."

My smile still won't leave my face.

"Excuse me, lads" she said, "But I have a lot to do and to finish. I have to renovate the bakery, I have to prepare André's room (the kid's name is Jean André de la Nuit), and I have to find someone to help me out with my sales. You see, I'm planning to sell wine to the customers and—"

"Wait" Louis interrupted, "Did you say that you were selling wine?"

"I was" said madame, "Until I found out that I need to find a supplier."

"Louis can help you out" I said. "He owns a wine business."

Madame Olivier looked at Louis for a while.

"You really can help me set up a wine stand in my shop?" said madame.

"Of course I can" replied Louis.

"Then let's talk inside then" said madame as she went inside the bakery.

"Umm…Jean" said Louis as he stood up. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all" I said. "I'll be in the apartment if you need me."

Louis went inside the bakery and I took my and Louis' suitcases to our room.

"Capitalists" I sighed.

* * *

"The contract was a success" said Louis as he entered the room. "Finally, something good happened today."

"Well that's good news" I complimented. "Change your clothes and go to sleep. It's already 21:30. We have to leave early tomorrow, remember?"

"Whatever" said Louis as he started removing his suit and replacing it with his "nightgown"

While that greedy lump is preparing himself to sleep, I placed the book I was reading under the pillow, put the lights off, and slept. I don't care if the window's still open. It's not like the moon is giving me nightmares, right?


	8. Chapter 7 - I'll Meet You There

**_Chapter 7 - I'll Meet You There_**

* * *

We came to Dunkirk earlier than usual. I mean, I expected that we come here at night-time, but it is still sundown.

"Shouldn't the ship be here by now?" I said.

"Must've got delayed" said Louis. "Besides, we did came too early."

"I'll be in the waiting area. Call me if the ship has arrived" I told Louis.

"Alright" he replied.

So, as I've said, I went back to the waiting area and continued the book I was reading last night, entitled " _Either/Or_ ". It's a really nice book which talks about so many concepts of aesthetics and existential stuff. I bought it five years ago in Paris and, until now, I can't finish it. (Technically, I did finish it from first page to last. What I mean is that I haven't grasped what the author wanted to point out in every paragraph yet.)

I read the book for about two pages until Louis came back to the waiting area.

"Ship's here!" he shouted.

"Finally!" I said as I took my suitcases and Louis took his.

"Remember what we talked about" I told Louis. "One week in London and after that to Barcelona we go. Do whatever you must in London, as long as it won't exceed the limit I placed down."

"I understand" said Louis. "Signing contracts in London shouldn't take longer than a day, provided no interruptions would occur."

The moment we went aboard, I noticed something unusual, as if something bad would happen at this moment.

"Hey" I tapped Louis. "Do you smell…smoke?"

We both slowly turned around to see a drunk lad holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a cigar on another hand. His clothes looked like he has not washed them for a month, and his hair looked like he didn't take a bath for a week.

"Well let's hope he won't burn the ship down" Louis said as we continued walking to our room only to be halted immediately as we saw five men each carrying wooden boxes labelled "explosives" walking south of our direction. We observed them walk as they placed the boxes in one side of the ship. Then our eyes browsed the deck to see that drunk boy again standing beside the explosives.

We both looked at each other anxiously.

"I have a bad feeling about this" I said.

"I feel the same" said Louis. "Eh, fate will tell anyway."

We went a deck lower to our designated room. We placed our suitcases beside a bed.

"You sleep in that bed" said Louis.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm sure I'll be fine sleeping on the floor" he replied. "I mean, there's an extra mattress under the bed."

"What do you mean 'You're sure you'll be fine sleeping on the floor'?" I asked again.

"Assuming that the ship won't explode, I'll be safe."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

It is 20:41, and I assume we're halfway towards London but I'm nowhere near halfway in finishing " _Either/Or_ ". Louis, on the other hand, is writing on his journal, probably documenting this trip.

I closed the book and put it under the pillow. I was about to sleep until a loud boom awakened my consciousness.

"What was that?" I said.

"I'll check it out" said Louis. He stood up and went outside for a meanwhile and then ran back to the room.

"I knew that idiot should be thrown overboard while we're still docked in Dunkirk" said Louis putting his belongings into his suitcases.

"What happened?" I said.

"Pack your suitcases, Jean" said Louis. "Remember the drunk kid we saw earlier?"

I nodded.

"Apparently, he set one of the five boxes of explosives on fire. Now the whole ship is on fire and we have to get out of here."

As Louis commanded, I packed everything I brought back to my suitcases, except of the book, which I held it in my hand. After packing up, we ran outside and went to an emergency life boat nearby. Everyone was panicking and jumping off of the ship so it was very difficult to find one. When we did found one, we immediately placed the four suitcases in it while I boarded myself in first. Louis was about to get in as well until another explosion happened, cutting off one of the four straps that held the boat to the ship.

"Hurry up!" I said.

"It's no use" said Louis. "I won't make it."

The other strap was cut off by the fire.

"Come in!" I reached out my hand, but Louis won't reach out his. He just looked at me compassionately in the eyes.

"Forgive me, Jean" said Louis.

"Wait, what you doing!?" I shouted.

"Don't mind me. Your life is better than mine" he told me.

"Louis, you have to come with me!" I pleaded. "I can't do this alone."

"You won't be alone" he said as he reached for a pocket knife in, well, his pocket and cut the last two straps, making the boat fall onto the water. Louis threw a paddle to the sea as I reached and grabbed it.

"I'll see you in London!" Louis shouted.

"Where exactly in London!?" I shouted back.

"Remember the house I bought in London? I'll meet you there."

"Okay then. Stay safe!"

"You too!"

I paddled quickly parallel to the direction of the ship's travel. It must be the quickest way for me to reach London in a short time. As I was approximately half a kilometre away from the burning ship, yet another explosion occurred, but this time, it was larger and louder—so large that so many flaming planks flew and crashed around me. Luckily, not even a single splinter hit me.

"May God have mercy on us all" I said as I continue my paddling to what I assume was the way to London. I wish I was going the right way. I mean, with all these waves and currents, I'm pretty sure my boat swerved away from the course.

I hope these waters lead to London


	9. Chapter 8 - Tea For My Lord

**_Chapter 8 - Tea For My Lord_**

* * *

"Well, at least this tragedy couldn't get any worse" I said as I kept on paddling.

And just as I thought it wouldn't, it did. Minutes later, I started to notice that the water inside my boat is slowly increasing, which meant big trouble.

"Not now" I grumbled as I covered the small hole with my foot.

I paddled faster and occasionally stood up to see if there's any land in sight. I kept on paddling until the boat is already half-filled with seawater.

"If I don't find any land sooner, then I'll be forced to use my suitcases as a boat."

Luckily, I saw trees from far away. It was difficult to fine land since it's the new moon so I only depend on the stars to light the night up.

"Oh, thank God" I sighed. "Finally some contacts."

I paddled as fast as I can until I can paddle no longer.

"Oh come on!" I groused as the boat is about to fully sink. "Already? You had to give up already when I needed you the most? Well that's just great."

I held onto the four suitcases I have, jumped out of the boat, and started paddling using my feet.

"I blame my dad for giving me aquaphobia" I mumbled. "Trying to make me swim in deep sea at the age of four. I mean, who does that to their children?"

After what seemed like hours of paddling, I finally reached the shore, which I hope is the way to London.

"There goes my papers, pens, clothes, and Louis' stuff" I said as I pulled out the book I kept inside my suit. "And there goes my beautiful guide to aesthetics. I'll find someplace to rest and to dry these things off and I'll proceed to going to the house Louis said he bought here. I just hope it's not mortgaged."

I started walking through the forest and kept on shouting "Anybody out there?" I kept on walking and shouting and I almost thought of setting up my own bed made from leaves and natural useful stuffs I can find until I saw light coming from a small cottage.

"Oh, finally" I laughed as I ran towards the cottage. As I stood in front of the door, I knocked once until the door opened by a small, old woman.

"Why are you here? It's late in the evening!" the lady shouted. "Go back, get rest, and scrawl in the morning."

"That's why I'm here, madam" I pleaded. "You see, I was headed to London until the ship I was in abruptly blew up. I was stranded here and I hope I can find refuge in your home, if you may permit me, that is."

The woman glanced at me from top to bottom, then she spoke.

"If rest is what you need, then come inside. Leave your wet clothes out and let the wind glide."

"Oh, uhm…okay. Thank you."

I went inside and looked around. It's just two rooms. No kitchen, no bathroom, and no living room. Just two bedrooms built side by side, which led me to a presumption that she cooks outside and goes fishing for a living.

"Here is your room. Make yourself comfy" she pointed to the right room. "Although the bed is a little bit lumpy, eh it will do."

I went inside the room the old lady pointed to see a small lamp beside a bed. Though it's made out of wood and leather, I'll make use of it. Besides, it's only a one-night stay. I'll leave at daybreak tomorrow anyway. As the woman commanded, I opened my suitcases and hanged the wet clothes outside, along with the wet papers. I then sat with the woman beside the fire to warm myself and to dry my clothes up.

"A tea for my lord?" said the woman as she handed me a cup of tea.

"Don't mind if I do" I said as I accepted the offer. Then my mind got curious as my eyes laid on her arms. It appears she have black and white stripes marked all over her arms. Not to mention the faded black and white stripes on her wrinkled cheeks and the black and white pattern on her long hair. Even her old and rugged dress has a black and white pattern.

"May I ask why do you have black and white stripes on your, erhm, almost your whole body is covered in black and white stripes" I said. "Why is that?"

The woman looked all over her arms and body.

"My stripes do not matter" she spoke up, "What matters is you. At daybreak, your whole self will be made anew."

She smiled at me and then went inside.

"She'd make a great poet" I laughed and thought about what she said. "Now what did she meant by saying 'At daybreak, your whole self will be made anew'? What does that even mean? I'll never know, but if something weird happens tomorrow, I know who I should blame."

After an hour of contemplating my existence or two, I took the book I hanged, checked whether it was still wet (some pages are still wet), and went back to the fire, reading the book.

"I see Kierkegaard is a big fan of Mozart" I mumbled as I continued reading (Søren Kierkegaard was the author of " _Either/Or_ "). "Why Mozart though? Why not Bach or maybe Beethoven? Of all classical composers existing in this world, why does it have to be Mozart? Eh, some people have different tastes. Others have bad ones."

I reached out my pocket watch to check the time, only to see it filled with seawater.

"Well there goes my watch. Must be somewhere near 01:35 already. I should sleep if I want to leave early tomorrow (that is, if nothing bad happens tomorrow)"

I got up, went inside, placed the book under the pillow like I always do, and slept soundly. Though I feel a slight tingling sensation in my back, I'll get used to it.


	10. Chapter 9 - Cloudsdale Tragedy

**_Chapter 9 - Cloudsdale Tragedy_**

* * *

"What time is it?" I groaned as I slowly woke up. "Probably 8:00. I should be out now."

I felt something strange. Aside from the fact that my bed changed to a queen-sized bed, the whole surrounding changed. The walls changed from rotting wood to blue cement. And since when did this room had a flag of Napoléon's Imperial Standard? I mean, Napoléon Bonaparte? Really? Not that I hate Napoléon and all, but I just find it weird to have his private flag pinned on my wall. Also, I don't remember this fleur-de-lis chandelier in the room. Where am I in particular?

"What is this place?" I said as I rubbed my eyes, until I noticed something very strange.

"Wait, what!?" I shouted. "What's this? Are these…hooves? And why did my hair instantly grew? Why do I have fur? What is this nonsense?"

My questions were later answered as I looked at myself in the mirror, which led me to five seconds of screaming and panicking.

"What am I!?" I shouted once more.

"You're a pony, silly" said a squeaky, bubbly voice resonating through the room.

"What was that?" I whispered. "Or…who was that rather?"

I looked around to see if there's anyone spying on me.

"If you're one of my ancestors haunting me, or if you're just a lonely voice in my head, then please stop, because this isn't helping me one way or another. Unless you're Marie Antoinette offering me cake, then please leave it beside my bed."

I went back to my bed and pondered for a while.

"I know this is a dream" I thought. "I've read in those books that if you sleep in your dream, either you'll wake up to reality or you'll enter another dream state. As much as I hate reality, I don't like this dream either. So, that's it, I'll sleep, I'll wake up to reality, I'll reunite with Louis in his house in London, I'll get dad's uniform from Uncle Picard, I'll hold my concert in London, Barcelona, and Madrid, and then I'll be back to my home sweet home in Marseilles."

As I've said, I went back to sleep, hoping that I wake up to the said reality I scoff.

"No, no, no!" I complained. "This can't be reality. I can't be a pony all my life! And since when did ponies have wings? What is this, some sort of a Hellenic magic trick? And how am I supposed to use this thing?"

I sat quiet in my bed for a meanwhile.

"It must be what that lady told me: 'At daybreak, your whole self will be made anew'. This must be what she meant. Now all I have to do is find that woman and make her poof me back to London. That is, if I knew where she is now."

I went downstairs and tried to look for the main door of the house while browsing through the living room.

"Really?" I said as I found a very weird painting on my wall, "The Battle of Waterloo in my wall? And why all of them are ponies? Why are Napoléon and the Duke of Wellington ponies? And why is Napoléon short in this painting? He's 5'7" for history's sake! In fact, he's as tall as I am if I wasn't turn into Pegasus. And what is this? Why do I have a bass and treble clef printed on my butt? Why not on the back of the neck or perhaps on the hair instead? Why does it have to be on the butt?"

After minutes of ranting over so many errors in the painting and my new self, I finally found the main door.

"Okay, here it goes. Time to see what evil is behind this door."

I breathed deeply twice and finally opened the door, which led me to another surreal sight.

"What!? A cloud? _That's_ what this house is on? A cloud? This isn't clearly Heaven. If it was, I wouldn't think I'm crazy and all."

I went to the edge of the cloud and have a peek down. I saw the ground, which looks so far away.

"Okay, so I'm on a cloud, this house where I 'spawned' is on a cloud, and that ground looks seven kilometres away. Great! Now I know I'm nowhere near Great Britain, or France. I might not be in Earth at all. This doesn't look like Earth judging from the fact that everyone's a flying pony. AND I HAVE THIS WEIRD THING PRINTED ON MY BUTT! Where in Victoria's sake am I!?"

"You're in Equestria, you candy" said the squeaky voice again, which made me turn my head around and look for the one who said that.

"Look, if you're some sort of a supernatural being" I said, "Show yourself! Or at least, give me a sign for me to know that I'm not crazy."

At that moment, a rock with a piece of paper nailed to it flew and hit me on the head.

"I'll take that as a sign" I said, rubbing my left hand (left hoof rather) behind my head as I read the writing on the paper.

"'Come down' huh? Well, I'll be able to come down if and only if I get these limp wings to work."

I moved to the edge of the cloud and attempted to fly for the first time of my life.

"Well, here goes nothing."

And with one strong jump, I flapped my wings as hard as I can. Seconds later, I can see myself floating in mid-air.

"This isn't difficult as I expected."

I experimented for a while, doing some flips and loops, until my wings lost grip of the air and made me fall into some trees and then a bush.

"That's one way of going down" I scoffed as I brushed the twigs and leaves off of my hair and tail.

Wait, I have a tail?

"Hey, I never knew I have a tail" I said as I kept on brushing my tail. "I always wanted to have a tail when I was a kid. I, Louis, and Gaston would go to a cemetery, open a coffin while no one's looking, and then cut the hair off of someone's skull. Either we'd play them as wigs, moustaches, beards, or tails. Even to dead people we were such bullies."

I stood up and started walking wherever my mind directs me to.

"Let's see what this community can offer me, or what I can offer to this community."


	11. Chapter 10 - Hysterical Ponyville

**_Chapter 10 - Hysterical Ponyville_**

* * *

Well, ticket pricing here is pretty cheap unlike in France. That is, if I can convert ten bits to francs. Probably around fifty francs or at least.

Anyway, I learned so many things about this "imaginary" place. I learned that this place is actually a monarchy with two princesses ruling this kingdom [or empire (or whatever)]. Why princess? I mean, they could be old by now. Why not queen? Or grand duchess at least. And why are there two rulers? Then it's a diarchy, not a monarchy. Are diarchies even a thing? Aside from the government, it seems that everything is steam powered, so I guess industrialisation just came here.

"Ah, yes. The train has arrived" I said as I heard an incoming hoot from the east.

The moment the train stopped, I went inside, looked for a seat near the window, and waited for the train to take me to this place called "Ponyville". Basing from the name, it's a village full of ponies. To distract my mind from the frenetic surrounding, I decided to contemplate about everything again, just like I always do.

"By the way, where did all these money came from?" I said as I reached out for my purse inside my top hat. "And where did I get this top hat? I thought I left mine at the floating house where I seemingly appeared to existence in this world? Oh wait, I had it along with me. Eh, I'll just sleep."

I covered my face with the hat and started temporarily escaping reality.

* * *

I guess I'm here at my destination. I can tell because the train abruptly halted, causing me to fall to the floor.

"Well, that's one way of waking an ill man up" I said, fixing myself and my top hat as I walk to the station.

"Here we go" I breathed nervously. "The clairvoyant village awaits."

Minutes of walking and moments of thinking passed by and I still haven't reached the village. It's been like fifteen minutes since I left the train station and still no sign of houses or ponies or any mind-boggling things. Am I lost? Or am I just being fooled upon?

"If I don't find any place to stay for the night" I said. "I'll be forced to bury myself alive. But the sun is still up high. Why am I such a restless person (or stallion)?"

I was about to literally bury myself alive after the next three hoofsteps (I'm getting a bit familiar with all these horse vocabulary) until some rubber ball hit the back of my head.

"Why does it always have to be the back of my head?" I said as I turned around to see three little ponies playing at each other.

"Oi!" I shouted. "If you're going to play around, try not to hurt anyone, okay?"

"Sorry, sir" said the little three.

"Now, go find someplace safe or I'll rip all your heads off like what Henry VIII did."

"Henry the wha?" said the little yellow one with a red bow on her hair.

"You know. Henry VIII of England, he made his own religion just so he can divorce his wife and…bah, forget it! Just go someplace else before I put all of you into a guillotine."

"What's a jelly-teen?" said the white one with curly hair.

"Just…go!"

So the three fillies went off to wreck another place.

"That's great!" I said, trying to compensate what just happened while continuing my walk. "An orange pony with wings riding some sort of board with wheels (what do you call those? Why do I tend to forget things these days? I'm still 29 years old!), a yellow pony with a bow larger than her head, and a white one with a horn and curls all over her hair. What's next!? A talking dragon?"

Two seconds after I released the last sentence, out of bloody nowhere, a _talking dragon_ riding a purple pony with a horn AND two wings just passed by, which made me drop my jaw, rub my two eyes together, and question my entire existence.

"I have got to be careful with my expectations around here" I said as I looked around to see more hysterical things.

* * *

Okay, so I presume I'm in Ponyville because I'm surrounded by houses that looked like French, Italian, and Germanic all at the same time, and then there's ponies that did nothing except walk and stare at me. What wrong have I done against this—?

"Look out!"

I heard someone shout behind me. I turned around to see… _Mon Dieu_! A flying talking light blue rock about to hit me!

And it did hit me. (And apparently, it was no rock. It's just another pony interacting with me.)

"Sorry about that" she said, helping me to get up. "I…I didn't mean to. I was going too fast and then—"

"'Didn't mean to!?" I said, trying to comfort the bruised spot on my arm. "Clearly you saw me walking down the alleyway, did you?"

"What?" she raised an eyebrow at me. "Well…uh…of course I saw you walk down but."

"And you are aware that there are ponies around here who might get hit by your ignorance, are you?"

"Yeah, but listen—"

"And I believe you are also aware that you have the capacity to over-speed. Therefore, why did you decide to fly quickly at a low altitude when you can just fly up high wherein you won't hurt anyone?"

"Look, it's called 'stunt' okay? It would be too boring if I'd just stay in the sky all day. So, why not take it low to increase the awesomeness?"

"Pffft, 'awesomeness'. Like your flying would be worth the awe."

"Well, I'd like to see _you_ race me to see who's more awesomer?"

"*Awesome. Just 'more awesome' because I didn't cram all night for the finals just for me to see people use English incorrectly."

"People? What's that?"

"People…ponies…gah! Forget it. I'll be off."

I quickly walked past her just to get away from that agitated flying crab, but she managed to catch up with me.

"Hey" she said, flying low again. "The name's Rainbow Dash. Also, nice hat."

And then she finally flew off.

"'Rainbow Dash', ha! What an ugly name." I scoffed.

"Excuse me?" the flying crab said as she suddenly descended from the sky.

"I said what a beautiful day to be alone and away from you" I mocked in front of her face and went off.

"Meh, what a killjoy" she said as she flew off again.

"Finally, that crab disappeared into existence. Now, where to go?"

I was about to think of going back to my house until some dork placed a sack on me and tied me up.


	12. Chapter 11 - The Library

**_Chapter 11 - The Library_**

* * *

 _Ugh…where am I? Why is dark? Why do I feel like I'm tied up onto some chair? And why do I hear breathing?_

Suddenly, a light from some sort of a lamp went off. And out of the great abyss, a pink pony with puffed hair and tail appeared.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY FRIENDS!?" the pink lass shouted.

"What, what?" I replied.

( _Wait, I heard that voice. Aren't you the supreme empress of the galaxies I presumed way back at the floating house?_ )

"Apparently, Pinkie Pie saw you having a fight with Rainbow Dash" said a purple one appearing from the abyss as well.

"Look, mademoiselle, this 'Pinkie Pie' might have been confused of what happened earlier. It was this ignorant piece of rock that cause all the trouble if she just flew above the sky, therefore hurting no one and continuing my quest to find my way back to the real world."

"I heard that!" echoed Rainbow Dash's voice.

"You're still not forgiven!" I shouted into the darkness. (Whoa, I always wanted to scream into the void to see if the void screams back. Apparently, the void is nothing but trash.)

"Wait" said the purple pony, getting a little bit too close, "You said you were looking for the way back to the real world. What kind of 'real world' in particular?"

"As much as I hated reality, I have to go back. I have a mission to accomplish. I believe my closest friend is already worried and has contacted the British police to conduct a search party. So if you'll just untie me and let me go, this argument would be finished in peace."

"Not so fast, 'ya fur ball" said an orange pony with a weird American accent. "'Till ya tell us 'ere what ye're _really_ planning, ye're not leaving."

"Look, I told all of you what I wanted. I wanted to wake up, go to London, retrieve dad's military uniform from my uncle, go to Spain for a concert, grow old in France, and have my remnants burned and thrown into the Mediterranean by my friend. Is that so hard to understand!?"

Everyone seemingly looked at each other in confusion.

"Just untie me and we'll have this settled" I said as I calmed myself. "Also, do I smell perfume?"

The four ponies who were talking to me turned around to see yet another pony spraying herself with perfume.

"What?" said the white, curly pony. "I just bought this and I wanted to test it."

"Just…untie me, please."

And, as I directed, the orange mare removed the rope as all the lights turned on, giving me a better view of the surrounding.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"It's a library, duh" said Rainbow Dash lying lazily from above.

"A library!? Why didn't you tell me before I was in a library? I like libraries."

"Sorry for the misconception" said the purple one. "You know my friends, they're very overprotective. Anyway, my name's Twilight Sparkle, and there's Pinkie Pie, Applejack, then Rarity, and…uhm…I guess that's all of us. Though there's one more; I guess she's too shy to meet you."

"Nice meeting all of you, but I guess I have to go. I have better things to do than socialising."

"But don't you want to stay, darling?" said Rarity (I hope I got the name right). "We're having a sleepover and it would be better if you'd join us"

"Thanks, but no thanks, mademoiselle. I have to go."

I opened the library door and finally went off.

"Surely there's something better to do than sleeping with a bunch of psychotic horses."

Suddenly, a lightning bolt flared, followed by a thunderclap, and then heavy rain.

"Really?" I grumbled. "You're forcing me to mingle with these plebes?"

So I was forced to go back to the library to prevent myself from getting wet any further.

"Alright, count me in" I ridiculed.

"Yay!" pounced Pinkie Pie. "We're gonna have fun times together!"

"Yeah…fun…times…" I cackled worriedly.

And, as the pink maniac said, the "fun" times began. Not the fun I actually wanted, but I went for it, all because of some silly rain. We played this game wherein you spin a bottle and then if the bottle points at you, the person (pony rather) whose other end of the bottle pointed at will tell you to either share a secret or forcibly do something humiliating. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash forced me to tell the most embarrassing thing that happened to me. I had no choice but to narrate to them the time I once believed that Paris was the capital of London, and I actually wrote "facts" to prove it. Then I posted it all around the campus during my primary education. Also, I told them I wore a girl's underwear for a week because it felt so soft and comfy.

Well, my only hope is that they don't blackmail me for all these.

After hours of shame and social torture, everypony thought of going to sleep, which means more time for me and myself only.

"I'll be sleeping here" I said. "Just in case of somepony attempting to break in."

"Suit yerself" said Applejack, throwing a sleeping bag and a pillow at me.

I unrolled the sleeping bag and sat on top of the pillow.

"Also, my top hat. Have you girls seen it?"

"Nope" said Pinkie Pie, wearing my hat. "Not a hat seen or found."

"I'll get that, thank you" I said as I flew up and took the hat from her.

"But I was wearing it!" whined Pinkie.

"You can wear it tomorrow."

"It's not like you're wearing it while you're sleeping, right?"

"Pinkie Pie" I whispered as I wore the hat, "You have no idea how I sleep. Good night."

"Wait, you can fly?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I _have_ wings, you dork" I jeered. "You're not the only one who can fly well."

I flew down and took five pieces of paper and my pen from my hat.

("Geez, what's wrong with that kid?" said Rainbow Dash.)

"Good thing everything's still here. Of course, I left the ink back home. Eh, I'll just see some interesting things that I can find in this tome of knowledge."

I started flying around and browsing the books for anything good to read until I was startled by a series of soft hoofsteps ringing through the floor.


	13. Chapter 12 - The Librarian

**_Chapter 12 - The Librarian_**

* * *

I ignored the hoofsteps, thinking it was some sort of night rat, until the wood creaking uncomfortably became a little louder.

"Hello?" I said. "Is there anyone there?"

"Uhm…just me" said Twilight coming out from the shadows.

"You sure it's just you spying on me, and no one else lurking in the darkness?" I asked.

"What? No!" she replied. "Well, yeah, if we don't turn the volume down a little, we will wake up one of our friends up."

" _Our_ friends?"

"You're part of our friendship circle now, right?"

"Eh, whatever."

I and Twilight slowly flew down and sat on the wooden floor, with only some dim candles illuminating the place.

"So, uhh" said Twilight, "What are you doing?"

"Talking to you" I sarcastically replied.

"I meant what were you doing before I started talking to you?"

"Finding something good to read until I realised all books are meaningless."

"Hey, that's not nice!"

"It's true. What's use of writing books and stories if, one day, they would be forgotten? We're not meant to live forever, and even if we did, there will be times that recording events will be seen by others as a useless act and a waste of time. Many have been and are doomed of repeating history because they fail to learn from it. Even if they did learn history, there's no absolute guarantee that they _did_ learn from it, not unless proven otherwise. So why make books if no one would put the lessons to practice?"

Twilight sat speechless, eyes wide open, and jaws dropped in awe.

"Woah" said Twilight, shaking her head. "I've never heard anypony speak like that."

"It's my hobby" I chuckled.

"Where did you get all the time thinking about these stuffs?"

"Let's just say I have sleep issues."

"Sleep issues? Really?"

"Hey, it's not easy coping with insomnia. You get to see your friend sleep well while you're wide awake, trying to sleep, thinking about your existence, and being haunted by dead ideas. And then you wake up, thinking whether you actually slept at all."

"Then why don't you go see a doctor?"

"I _am_ a doctor. Well, I didn't technically study in medical school, but I have medical books I collected from my older cousins, which is pretty much the same, right?"

Twilight shrugged in uncertainty.

"Perhaps" she said.

Seconds later, only the pitter-patter of raindrops can be heard as we both try to start another subject to discuss.

"So" said Twilight, breaking the ice, "What are your preferred readings?"

"Anything about science" I answered.

"Really!?" she replied in amazement. "What kind?"

"Oh, you know" I replied. "Just my usual favourites: metaphysics, existentialism, nihilism (or as I'd call it, "edgy existentialism"), aesthetics, pseudoscience, stuffs like that and more."

"Wow, I don't even know most of those things. From where you came from, I'm pretty sure all of you are more advanced than us."

"'More advanced than us'? Your world is the one more advanced than our world. I mean, just look at your ticket pricing! I'd sell one of my clothes just to get on a train in our world, and you have those cool-looking boards with wheels and handles and—"

"You mean 'scooters'?"

"Oh, is that what you call the thing that orange foal with purple hair rides all the time?"

"'Orange foal with purple hair'? Wait, you met Scootaloo?"

"Oh, is that what her name is?"

"Did you happen to see three fillies playing together?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And may I ask where in Equestria did you meet them?"

"Beside a spooky forest with lush nature sounds. Why?"

"The Everfree Forest?! What are they doing there?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"No, I mean, the Everfree Forest is a very dangerous place. It's filled with haunted trees, cruel creatures, vicious beasts, poison ivies, and things that may cause your immediate death!"

"Sounds like Luxembourg."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just continue."

"As I was saying, Scootaloo and her friends told me they were gonna explore the Everfree and that they wanted me to help them out. I explained to them why the Everfree is a dangerous place and that they're too young to go there. But I didn't know they would do such things."

"Why not just let them? You're supervising them anyway."

"It's not easy taking care of three super-adventurous fillies when you're in one army. Besides, one of them might get hurt."

"Eh, suit yourself."

And as before, silence engulfed the library. Though the weakening of the rain seems pretty noticeable. And why there are some candles whose flames have flicked out? It unnerves me a little, since the moon won't show up to illuminate the place thanks to these stupid rainclouds. Insolent clouds, will only show up when I needed the moon the most, and when I needed rain the most, there they go hiding from plain sight. No, really, thanks clouds, for being such a scumbag for ruining the night.

Eh, I'm an insomniac anyway, so who needs sleep? It's not like the boogieman would show up from underneath your bed, right? In this case, I won't even sleep in a bed, so there's a slight chance the boogieman won't show up. But, as my grandma said, "Never underestimate the boogieman. He might even come out of your trousers, scaring little kids away".

And, after all those years, this is the only time I understood grandma's joke. Nice job on making such jokes, grandma. You have my salute.

"By the way" I said. "Why do you have a horn and two wings? What are you, some sort of lab experiment gone horribly wrong?"

"Huh?" said Twilight. "Oh. Well, you see, I'm an alicorn."

"Ah, so I've heard" I exclaimed. (I really didn't expect alicorns to be _this_ hideous.) "So you're a princess then?"

"That's right" Twilight nodded.

"A princess in a library? What's next, a queen in primary school?"

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"Shouldn't royalties live in castles?"

"Does visiting and sleeping in castles count?"

"I said _living_ in castles."

"Well, I haven't exactly thought of owning a castle yet. I mean, this library suits my comfort needs for me."

"Whatever fits your taste, 'your highness'."

I laughed as Twilight stared at me, a little bit annoyed.


	14. Chapter 13 - Vicomte des Flanders

**_Chapter 13 - Vicomte des Flanders_**

* * *

"By the way" said Twilight, "You haven't told us your name yet."

"I haven't?" I asked surprisingly. "Wow, after hours of humiliation and torture, I thought I told you all my name already. Anyway, my name is Jean-Jacques Antoine Barthélémy Xavier, Vicomte des Flanders. My French friends call me 'Jean' and my English friends call me 'Shaun' so you can call me in that way."

(Though the name "Shaun" is very far from the literal translation. Eh, I can take it.)

"Wow, uhh, Shaun" said she. "How did your parents came up with that name?"

"My name is simply a history of my family" I replied. "'Jean' came from my mom, 'Jacques' came from my dad, 'Antoine' came from my grandfather, 'Barthélémy' from my great-grandfather, and my last name is Xavier, not Vicomte des Flanders."

"Then why bother put that name?"

"Well, apparently, 'Vicomte' actually means 'Viscount'."

"So you count bees?"

"What? No! I hate bees. I hate them. Stupid buzzy buzz-buzz, always ruining my evening. You have to bit me during the nationals, messing my concentration, and almost causing my loss. Can't you bite me some other time but not while I'm performing in front of thousands of people? Luckily, I made it to the top spot. No, really, thank you for temporarily paralyzing my hands! If it wasn't for you, I won't be able to press the keys during that contest. Really, just—"

"Hey, uhm, Shaun?"

"Yes!?"

"You haven't' explained to me the meaning of thins viscount thingy."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, viscounts are really rich people, either they're born from royalty, or happens to have a large stock of money, while 'des Flanders' literally means 'of Flanders. So my title means "Viscount of Flanders". Don't get me wrong, this Flanders country doesn't exist anymore, at least, during the time of my ancestors, it did. Do you follow?"

"Yeah. Keep on going."

"Right, so I came from a really rich family line. They are what's known as the 'Viscounts and Viscountesses of Flanders". But because of some sort of a war in that place, my ancestors moved to my hometown. That's how my family settled there. My grandfather didn't use the title though, and so did my dad. I had the choice of not using the title as well and it is foolish of me to forget my family history, so I used the title. Long story short, I'm really rich. I mean, really, really rich."

(And by rich, I mean 'your-grandfather-having-dinner-with-Tsar-Alexander-II' rich.)

"Wow, that's an interesting family history you have, and to think I only became a princess just because I recently changed some sort of old magic spell."

"Wait, you're telling me you became a princess just because you revised an old magic spell?"

"In a way, yeah."

"Is that how princesses are born here?"

"For my case, yeah. In the case of other princesses, I don't think so."

"This is surely a particular place, and it would take me years to familiarise myself with the surroundings."

Twilight muttered a small chuckle as both of us fell silent again. Anyway, it helped me to notice that it stopped raining.

"You told us earlier you came from another world" said Twilight. "Tell me everything you know about your world."

"You _really_ want to know _my_ world?"

"Why not?"

"Well, first of all, I haven't 'explored' _all_ of my world, so I'll just tell you everything I experienced. Second, I'm afraid it may give you nightmares, so if you really want to know about my world, well, brace yourself. And third—"

"Hey, the rain has stopped."

"Huh?" I looked up to see the moonlight coming from a half-moon. "Oh, yeah. So it did."

"You wanna go talk outside?" said Twilight as she opened the library door.

"Outside? At this time of the night?" I reasoned out.

"I mean, the rain just stopped, so I bet the night air would be great."

"Well, if it suits your taste."

So I and Twilight went out and had a slow stroll across Ponyville.

"As I was saying" I said, "My world is nothing compared to yours. In my world, you'd wish you lived in a world like this. I mean, it's the first time I see the public smiling without an occasion. Yeah, you can presume that my world is pretty depressing and tiring. With all the disorder, chaos, and injustice, you could say that my world is going down. Nevertheless, I'd dream of saving the world from degeneration and stupidity. But, every time I do so, there's always a mass of people against me. So, I thought, if people doesn't want change, then I guess I'll let their instincts and regrets teach them, if they have any. Also, what's that thing printed on your butt?"

"What? This?"

Twilight pointed to a star-shaped…thing on her, uhh, flank.

"Yeah. And why do I have them too?" I said.

"It's a cutie mark" she replied.

"Cutie what?" I asked in utter confusion.

"A cutie _mark_. It's what you get after you found your special talent."

"I have a special talent?"

"May I see yours?"

"Wait, what!?" I shouted, blushing faintly.

"N…no, I mean the cutie mark, silly!" Twilight shouted as well, blushing heavily.

"Well, if you insist."

I turned around halfway and showed her the treble-clef cutie mark of mine.

("This is perhaps the most inappropriate thing that ever happened to me, the fact that we're both outside" I said to myself.)

"So I guess your special talent has something to do with music" said Twilight.

"Well, I do play the piano" I said, turning to her. "But, I didn't know it was special."

"Not everyone can play the pian" said Twilight.

"So I presume you're great at astronomy?" I said as we continue walking.

"Well, yeah and no" said Twilight. "I do like stars, but it's not why I have this cutie mark exactly. I have this very unique magical abilities, wherein I once made a baby dragon hatch from his egg, which, I think, is very difficult to do."

"Interesting" I complemented.


	15. Chapter 14 - Laissez Faire

**_Chapter 14 - Laissez Faire_**

* * *

"What about you?" said Twilight, "How did you get your cutie mark?"

"Oh, me?" I answered timidly. "Well…uhh…I'm not really sure."

"You mean to tell me your cutie mark appeared out of nowhere?" asked Twilight again.

"I'm not really sure" I replied. "I mean, I don't even know cutie marks exist in our world. Talents just pop out when you found them."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you're from another world. How did you discover your talent then?"

"I didn't discover it. My mom kinda, well, 'forced' me to play an instrument I just met. A week later, I can play any piano piece blindfolded."

"Isn't it wrong for your parents to tell your own fate?"

"It's just my mom. She's into pianos, unlike my dad who served the army since I can remember."

"And you're okay with your mom telling you what to do?"

"Well, she's my mother. She knows what's best. It's no surprise why people call me 'Mama's Puppet'. And yes, you must be wondering if I feel fine with it. No, I don't. But since I'm old enough to take care of myself, I can do whatever I want that pleases me. Anyway, it's already very late and I think we should be back at the library by now. And I presume you're very tired."

"I guess I am, a little."

"Let's get back now, before something else might happen."

"Why would you say that?"

"It's night. No one knows what happens in the night."

"I mean, why would you want to go back? The library's just in front of us."

"Wait, what?"

It took me a minute to realise we were roaming around the whole vicinity all along.

"Oh" I said, snapping myself back to reality. "Alright then."

We both walked towards the front door until I stopped.

"Well?" said Twilight, walking inside. "Don't you want to come inside? The rain might fall down again."

"I…I think I shouldn't sleep here" I said.

"Why not? Don't you want it here?" Twilight hesitated.

"Not that I don't like it here" I reasoned out, "But I have some things to do back home."

"At this time of the night?"

"You have no idea what I do during midnight."

"Well, alright then. Stay safe. Oh, and don't forget to come back at dawn. I'll show you the whole place."

"Whatever suits you then."

I waved to Twilight as she waved back.

"Now, how did I do that again?" I said, giving my wings a flap.

I flapped more as my feet slowly lost contact of the ground.

"That's it" I whispered as I flew off.

"I hope I find my way back home. That is, if I knew the way back home."

After what seemed hours of flapping and gliding through the midnight breeze, I was finally able to reach my house safe and sound, with minor wing scratches due to very tall trees and all, but that doesn't matter. What's important is that I'm safe and that I still have no idea how to get back.

Time for me to cry.

"Gosh, her yawn is so cute" I shouted, locking the door behind me as I friskily went upstairs and threw myself onto the bed. "And why am I starting to like creatures whose existence are questionable? For real, what's happening to me?"

I released a heavy sigh and lazily rolled around the bed until I felt something awkward—something hard and woody.

"What's this?" I stood up as I saw a wooden bracelet on the bed. "Funny, I'm not a fan of wood trinkets."

I examined the bracelet closer to see a little cross hanging from the said bracelet.

"Oh no" I exclaimed. "This must be Louis' rosary. I completely forgot that I still have his luggage. Now I really need to get out of this weird place or the poor rich man will have nothing to wear (irony, isn't' it?). Question is how? When? And who should I ask for help? It's like Twilight is the only one who can help me with this—that's it! She can do witchcraft with that horn of hers. Maybe she can help me get back to London. Hmm…maybe not a good idea to use the word 'witchcraft'. I better check outside to see if there are some radical Catholics and their inquisition band."

I opened a window to receive ventilation and to stargaze.

"Apparently, the moon is absurdly larger than normal" I said to myself. "Also, it appears that I'm the only pony awake at this time of the night. Stupid insomnia, giving me sleep deprivation and wrinkles. Well, let's see if I can do something to pass the time."

I opened my suitcase, took my journal and pen, and went back to the window.

"Well, this could be a nice place to write about. That is…if I know how to write."

I just remembered that I have no fingers. I attempted to write by clamping the pen between two of my hooves. It went well at first, until the frequent slipping of the pen annoyed me too much. Then I started writing using my mouth. It wasn't a great idea, to be honest, as if it was a children's penmanship. I kept using the same two procedures over and over again. Hooves, then mouth, then hooves, then mouth again, until I finished today's entry after what seemed like hours.

"Finally, it's done!" I said joyfully, letting myself fall onto the bed, embracing the journal, and hearing the dynamic choral part of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ringing in my head.

"I can get used to this, I hope" I said, looking at the entry I just wrote and regretting everything.

"Now what?" I said, starring at the abnormal moon. "Well, if Twilight would bring everything back to normal, then I'll do it. That is, if she can do it."

I covered myself with a blanket, closed my eyes, and slept, not minding the annoying cricket chirps echoing through the room.


End file.
